Dear @QuasiQuadrant where do you live because i am awed by your world. You rock lady!
Cement as a craft? heck yeah!
- Thread starter msunnerstood
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@msunnerstood your magnets are very cute! I was shopping at a holiday market this past weekend and met a candle maker who made all of her vessels out of cement. They were so pretty and the smooth ones had such a lovely feel.
I tried making vessels and quickly discovered cement cracks when heated. I researched a bit and found its a recurring issue with cement vessels. I have been researching some hybrids to try in its place.
I didn't buy one of her candles, so I can't test for myself. She is very nice so I hope she is aware and has figured it out.
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Possibly related... I found myself balancing on the edge of a rabbit hole this weekend, when I found a guy from Arizona who posts videos about how to find 'wild clay,' just walk around, find likely clay-rich soil, refine it, and make pottery from it! I was able to resist because I have no place to make a temporary 'kiln' to fire the pots, but once we move out to the country again, I could imagine this happening. My wife has been studying candle making and found a bunch of videos on making candle jars from concrete, so I imagine I'll be learning something about this craft, too.
PaintyLiz
Well-Known Member
I too hate useless garbage generated for no reason. So I always try to find uses for things. Unfortunately it means I have a huge pile of things that are actually garbage LOLI have been wanting to do some work with concrete, actually. Related, I despise styrofoam, and despise throwing it out even more....this stuff should be banned outright. I am constantly finding it in my little cove, picking up everything from chunks of this %$#! to tiny bits & pieces which the birds, seals, fish & whales eat. It's especially bad after a windstorm, when all sorts of garbage blows in on the waters.
So I have been thinking, after opening yet another box of furniture (I have been redoing my home) with - you guessed it - styrofoam inside & cussing up a storm....what can I do with this rubbish?
Well, I have been studying alternative building materials & methods over the past 4 years - NOT million dollar earthships - and decided to search the term STYROCRETE....lo and behold, somebody has come up with a way to use styrofoam in concrete as a strong, fireproof, low-cost building material. Super low-cost.
So, I have now begun saving this man-made abomination and will be using it next year when my granddaughter comes down to visit. I told her this is a project we are going to work on, outside of kayaking, wild foraging & bushwhackingand she is thrilled. We will be making outdoor planters & garden bed enclosures, along with some sculptures, to begin with. This will make it possible for me to physically move garden bed enclosures very easily, by myself, on demand, as this material is lighter weight than 100% concrete but still heavy enough to remain stable & in-place. The concrete & styrofoam makes a material that is very resistant to weather as well, which is a huge plus out here, yet weighty enough that it's not going to blow away. It also won't rot like wood, and prevents unnecessarily using lumber, which has a positive impact in terms of using less trees for this purpose. I have also seen people making entire homes & other outdoor structures out of this material. This is exciting stuff, for me anyways.
I love having a granddaughter who is as open as I am to getting as filthy as I wanna be
anyway, I have a book called I think it's called foam craft but I can't find a title online. The woman who wrote it is actually very creative she even made a working Fountain from styrofoam. I think she covers it with cement? I don't know I wish I could find the book LOL but it's in storage somewhere. I made styrofoam planters, but they only had fake Ivy in them. If you were to plant real things you would need some sort of liner. I covered them with sheetrock mud they were on the porch and didn't get wet. It's a lot of fun. I have also made indoor window valances covered with fabric. White glue and toothpicks will hold them together very securely.
Sheetrock mud / drywall mud can be mixed with an acrylic hardener which is used for concrete (the brand I have of this stuff is made by QuickCrete) as I found out when beginning to make my own cold porcelain clay for the purpose of making sculptures. I would cover my 'clay' in a couple of layers of this acrylic hardener, which would ultimately waterproof it & allow me to put my sculptures outside. This stuff gives off no fumes, unlike marine varnish, which many people use for outdoor sculptures.
I have also mixed this acrylic hardener with drywall mud, which allowed me to slather & smooth on a layer of drywall mud over wire / foam / paper / clay armatures I made. Works like a hot-d@mn. That drywall / sheetrock mud ain't gonna come off, believe me. So make sure to smooth it on / texture it exactly as you want it before it dries, because you will NOT be sanding it afterwards, believe me
Awesome! Thank you!
Gonna go get a huge bale of peat moss from my local feed shop later this week...and I will try this first with the styrofoam, rather than the perlite. It's still warm enough outside right now for me to experiment & get the mix down pat before next summer when my granddaughter is here.
I am guessing this stuff will also make some beautiful outdoor mandalas which I can inlay sand dollars, sea shells, clam shells, beautiful stones, driftwood & more natural materials into. All I need is a big, flat, round form....and now my wheels are turning yet again
@KiwiMoose thank you again for sharing info regarding the mandala kit you purchased some time ago. I just bought 2 for me & my granddaughter. Awesome Christmas present for her & awesome putzing around toy for me! I have all sorts of stones & shells sitting around waiting to be 'creatively modified'
To be honest, I am awed by & incredibly grateful for my world every single day I open my eyes in the morning...
Yes, I feel that way partly because of where I live (which is a very conscious & deliberate choice).Another part of it is because of the fact that I see everything as an opportunity to play, which I feel very joyful about....everything....even unloading rebar & straw bales from the roof of my vehicle which took me a good 45 minutes to get ratchet strapped up there, without any 'help'. That's my inner 'world', which makes a huge difference.
I have 3 grandchildren - notice my choice of words, which *does* matter: NOT 'I'm a grandmother 3 times over', which is a deliberate choice....the fact that I have 3 grandchildren does not stop me from dancing like I did in my 20s & 30s until I am sweating like a farm animal LOL or from going hiking for hours in the bush on my own, or kayaking, or soap making, or traveling worldwide, or anything else I wish to do. I no longer utter the word 'age' or 'old' either...eg. as people commonly say 'I am **** years old'. The number of times I have heard people use phrases such as 'I've got one foot in the grave' and 'I'm so old' or 'my bones have started creaking' and 'my god, I have just 'realized I'm now an 'older woman'' just this year is absolutely staggering....this is programming which we can choose to step away from. We can choose to live differently, even if those around us feel uncomfortable with our choices. And people WILL feel uncomfortable with this, believe me, whether family, friends, our grown children, neighbours, doctors, whoever, when you refuse to live by standard societal expectations & beliefs. Don't worry about it
Go about your business creating / living your life in a way which helps you feel joy the majority of the time, and also respect the fact that there are some days you will feel like having a cry....you will also grieve, feel angry, and so on. The important thing is to be aware of the fact that you can choose when to stop feeling these things, and walk back into your joyful world. Everyone's path to this realization / awareness / practice is different. We are all creators in our own right, and we have the right to choose what type of world we create for ourselves, personally & societally.Combine these things along with a willingness to find joy - or at the very least *appreciation* even in things which may appear / feel on the surface to be horrible - in absolutely everything, and life in general begins to energetically shift, no matter where a person lives.
Most people live fulfilling societal expectations. We are not taught, or even encouraged, to create our lives in a manner which gives us joy, to make that our primary focus throughout our lives, sadly. As I have learned, this is key. And love the HE-double-hockey-sticks out of everything / everyone around us, despite the fact that we might have a momentary feeling that choking someone might be very satisfying
Allow yourself that moment, love yourself even when you may behave less than kindly towards someone, then release it & move back into the energy of love, joy, gratitude Guilt, shame, punishment & recrimination of ourselves & others serves nobody's greater good.Life is a wonderful thing, and it is ours for the creating, ours for our personal enjoyment
These words came at the most right time in my life right now because this is how i am feeling and living. Thank you 
These words came at the most right time in my life right now because this is how i am feeling and living. Thank you
That is so awesome....and honestly brings tears to my eyes in the best possible way....
I have been looking into this as well as working with that natural clay really interests me. I am still sussing out where in my area I can find some clay which may be of the right quality.
We have so many natural resources available to us that it's mind blowing when we begin to realize this. All we need to do is harvest respectfully, approach harvesting with gratitude, and create things of beauty to share with others
Lately I have been wanting to try cement candle containers. Just started making 3in soy candles with eco 6 wicks. Seemed like a more hands on and cheaper method of obtaining containers to pour in.
I haven't seen this website come up in this thread regarding cement crafting. Made by Barb has some great ideas and information regarding working with cement. It's where I got the inspiration for my price card stands. She also has videos on YouTube. Here's a fun one:
PaintyLiz
Well-Known Member
Her site is fantastic! She also makes molds out of silicone caulking from home depot. I had forgotten about her thanks for the reminder! Now I'm off to waste a couple hours looking at someone else be creative while I sit on the couch LOL
Cement will crack when heated. I had the same thought and tried it. I had melted wax all over the place. Did some googling and found many others who had the same issue.
I have, however seen some cement alternatives for vessels like hydrostone.
I love this idea!
I'd love to see what you come up with.
I would try it with the styrofoam, and will as soon as I begin with this project, as the insulating factor of it may prevent that.
I have seen t tested with a freakin' blowtorch, so know for a fact that it's fireproof
There's also fireproof putty....some guy on YouTube....give me a sec to find him....
YES! NightHawkInLight! This guy rocks...a very intelligent oddball....just the way I like people....and all other species LOL
I am willing to bet that playing with some concrete plus the materials he mentions may very well result in a fireproof, crack-resistant material. It's perfectly logical...just play with some sugar & borax added to your cement in different proportions...
I will be adding borax to my styrocrete to make it insect proof.
